


Zootopia Headcanons

by zootopepo (pepoluan)



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Bunny Population, Bunnyburrow (Zootopia), Gen, Worldbuilding, Zootopia Geography, Zootopia Headcanons, Zootopia Worldbuilding, headcanon collection, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-10-10 19:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17431931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepoluan/pseuds/zootopepo
Summary: Some Headcanons about the Zooniverse,mostlyI copy-pasted from Tumblr (reposted on AO3 for safekeeping),plussome new ones I think might be helpful for all budding Zootopia fanfic writers.





	1. ZPD, some thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, this is a _quite early_ headcanon, one of the first ones I had when I jumped in with both feet into the Zootopia fandom. I _really_ just copied this "chapter" **as-is** , with no editing (aside some minor formatting) whatsoever. There will undoubtedly some errors, and also as I got involved with the fandom, modifications have been made in later headcanons.

Worldbuilding time!

So Zootopia was inspired by London and New York. That means, a population of roughly 8.5 million.

 _Ideally,_ there should be 1 police officer (of any ranks) per 500-700 residents. If we take the middle number, that gives slightly more than 14'000 police officers to serve Zootopia.

Definitely the group of officers we saw during Chief Bogo’s briefings are … quite far from 14'000.

Not to mention, where are the other graduates of the Police Academy besides Judy?

Also… Upon joining the ZPD, Judy got a rank of Lieutenant. According to the established practices of Police Departments, a rank of Lieutenant has supervision of a shift and/or a precinct. They has two or three Sergeants under their command, each supervising several Officers.

But Judy has no one to supervise.

SO

Considering that:

  1. The group of officers we see in the movie are personally headed by the Police Chief (Chief Bogo), not by a Deputy Chief or Colonel or Captain
  2. It seems only the class valedictorian joins that group; we do not see other graduates of Judy’s class or of Nick’s class joining the group
  3. The group is not limited to just one precinct, but operate over the whole metropolitan area



THESE ARE MY HEADCANONS:

 **[1]** The officers under Chief Bogo’s direct command are actually part of “The Elite Forces” of the ZPD

 **[2]** They have operational command over divisions and precincts

 **[3]** They are personally briefed by Chief Bogo only for Extraordinary Circumstances

 **[4]** These officers I shall term “ **Bogo’s Pack** ”, a bunch of officers hand-picked by Chief Bogo to join his Elite Team (or, in Judy’s case, a… persuasion by Mayor Lionheart). There are _**many**_ other police officers not part of the Bogo’s Pack but serving the ZPD in any of its subdivisions (see “STRUCTURE” below)

 **[5]** STRUCTURE:

  * **ZPD** (Administrative Organization) – headed by Chief Bogo
  * **ZPD Metropolitan** (whole city) – headed by Chief Bogo
    * **SWAT Unit**
    * (Kinda informally) **Bogo’s Pack**
  * Districts – headed by Commanders / Colonels.  
Districts are geography-based:
    * **Canal District**
    * Downtown District – This area is special; it is directly under ZPD Metropolitan
      * **“Precinct One: City Center″** is the name of the “Precinct” that Chief Bogo directly commands.
      * Actually there is no such precinct; just a way for “Bogo’s Pack” to have their own break room, briefing room, etc. in the ZPD Headquarters.
    * **Little Rodentia District**
    * **Meadowlands District**
    * **Rainforest District**
    * **Sahara Square District**
    * **Savanna Central District**
    * **Tundratown District**
  * Divisions – headed by Commanders / Colonels
    * **Administration & Education Division**
    * **Forensics Division**
    * **Internal Affairs Division**
    * **Investigators Division**
      * **Special Victims Unit**
    * **Traffic Division**
      * **Meter Attendant Unit** (”Meter Maids”)
    * **Vice/Narcotics Division**
    * **Water Police Division**
  * **Precincts** – headed by Majors / Captains
    * Let’s say 4-5 precincts per district listed above. Possibly more for Tundratown and Sahara Square, due to their sizes.



**[6]** RANKS:

We simplify the ranks as [listed here](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPolice_ranks_of_the_United_States&t=ZWM5NmQ0NjdlOTA2MWI5NWYwMTE5NGQ4MjU3NTYyZGMyOWIxODc2Nix0a04xd2lkVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3ANCD88-Aun3ZVwSA4UFdljg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fpepoluan.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F149134810140%2Fzpd-some-thoughts&m=1), as follows (ranks in **boldface** is my preference, for purposes of worldbuilding):

  * **Chief** – head of the ZPD Organization and ZPD Metropolitan
    * Also the direct commanding officer of the “ **ZPD Elite Squad** ”
  * Commander / **Colonel** / Superintendent – head of a ZPD District
  * Commander / Colonel / **Superintendent** – head of a ZPD Division
  * Major / **Captain** – head of a Precinct
  * **Lieutenant** – head of a watch shift in a precinct, _except_ if appointed to the ZPD Elite Squad
    * The lowest rank Chief Bogo will consider for joining the ZPD Elite Squad (”Bogo’s Pack”)
  * **Sergeant** – head of a squad
  * Deputy / **Corporal** – a regular police officer with no rank



The term “ **Officer** ” has no rank relevance; it refers to _any_ member of the ZPD, regardless of rank.

 **[7]** BOGO’S PACK: In here, ranks mean nothing. The Chief is free to assign _any_ member of the pack, _any_ police duty he saw fit. Including “Parking Duty” (Meter Attendant / Meter Maid).


	2. Zootopia Districts (CANON)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Canon** districts I unearthed from the Zootopia Maps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally from [this post of mine on Tumblr](https://pepoluan.tumblr.com/post/149278785130/additional-zootopia-major-locations-i-need-to-work). Most of the text is copy-pasted as-is, with the "Major Locations" part rewritten.

* * *

So, based on what **can be seen** on the maps, the Major Locations in Zootopia are:

  * **Beaverdam** **(?)** – northeast corner of Tundratown, partially covered at the upper edge of the map
  * **Canal District**
  * **Canyonlands** – just south of the Tundratown/Sahara wall.
  * **Downtown**
  * **Marshlands** – just off the west border of Canal District/Rainforest District.
  * **Meadowlands** \- north edge of the map
  * **Rainforest District**
  * **Savanna Central**
  * **Tundratown**
  * **Sahara Square**



> **NOTE:** There are likely other Major Locations beside the above, but they are **not visible on the maps**.

And less major locations

  * **Muddy Swamp** – Rainforest District
  * **Vine Country** – Rainforest District
  * **Ficus Grove** – Rainforest District
  * **The Canopy** – Rainforest District
  * **Glacier Falls** – Tundratown
  * **Snowy Hills** – Tundratown 
  * **Icy Lake** – Tundratown
  * **Hyenahurst** – Sahara Square
  * **Coyote Canyon** – Sahara Square 
  * **Sandy Ridge** – Sahara Square 
  * **Vole Garden** – Savanna Central / Downtown
  * **Otterdam** – Savanna Central / Downtown
  * **Haymarket** – Savanna Central
  * **Gnu York** – Savanna Central
  * **Acorn Heights** – Savanna Central
  * **Palm District** – Sahara Square
  * **Big Dune** – Sahara Square



And some place names partially covered:

  * **CREAV– VALL– (??? Valley?)** – North of the Tundratown/Sahara Wall, northeast of downtown
  * **—–ALL (The Wall?)** – just north of Canyonlands **  
**
  * **—Y LA— (Dry Lake?)** – center of Sahara Square, to the east of Palm District
  * **–POT– –MAR– (??)** – south of Haymarket
  * **–UT** – east by southeast of Gnu York



****Your help will be greatly appreciated.


	3. Zootopia City's Natural Climate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From [this post of mine on Tumblr](https://pepoluan.tumblr.com/post/149704276390/headcanon-zootopia-has-only-two-seasons).

## Headcanon: Zootopia has only two seasons

I have been thinking, Zootopia couldn’t have been located in the temperate zone where there are 4 seasons. Winter will likely wreak havoc with all the water installations in the Rainforest District. Not to mention astronomically higher energy requirement to maintain the Sahara Square’s environment.

The city must be located in the tropical, or subtropical zone, where there are only two seasons: Dry Season and Wet Season. (“Wet” here is, of course, relative. Higher average monthly precipitation, but probably not too high. Except for the occasional storm/hurricane.)

So, no snow in Zootopia, ever. Well, except in Tundratown, but that’s a different thing altogether.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is kinda very short. But I think this is very important for worldbuilding.
> 
> Also, I posted this on Tumblr before I found out that there are coordinates on the traffic cam recording, which I actually posted on Tumblr as well. I'm yet to come upon that post; I will update/correct this "chapter" when I re-find that post.


	4. Interspecies Relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is original thoughts I posted on AO3, not copied from Tumblr (although something similar I might have posted there, but not as structured as this)

So, the million dollar question: How do Zootopia mammals view interspecies relationship?

First of all, we have the example of **Bucky and Pronk** (Judy's neighbors): They are different species... and **married**. Don't just take my word for it; refer to what Jared Bush had once tweeted:

> They are a gay married couple. But they don't yell at each other because they're gay, they yell because they're real. ;)
> 
> ~ [@thejaredbush on 30 Nov 2016](https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/803836679425556480?s=19)

If we interpret "married" to be "having a marriage license", that means inter-species relationship, albeit uncommon, is accepted and **recognized by the state**.

Another example, albeit with a lesser canon status, is depicted in [_Quick as a Flash!_](https://zootopia.fandom.com/wiki/Quick_As_A_Flash!), an **official Zootopia comic** , in which a hyena asked Priscilla (the female sloth in the DMV) out for **a date**.

The second example shows that not only inter-species relationships exist, it also imply that inter-species relationship is neither really "special" nor scandalous, seeing how casual the hyena in the aforementioned comic offered the date to a sloth (and how quick, relatively speaking, for thr sloth to accept).

HOWEVER, and this is _earth-shatteringly_ impactful:

The second example seems to imply that inter-group relationship (i.e., pred/prey) is also not a strong taboo, because:

  * A hyena is definitely a predator.
  * A sloth is definitely a prey.



This, of course changes _a lot of things_ for me as a writer; no longer can I rely on the trope of "society unwelcome of pred/prey relationship" for my stories. The tension needs to come from somewhere else.

That said, even though the Zootopia society at large might not be unwelcoming to such relationship, it certainly does not mean that _everyone_ will be on the same page. And when opinions differ, they will differ by varying degrees.


	5. Not That Good at Multiplying (CANON)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnies do have large families, but not THAT large.

When Judy wrapped the carrots, for a couple of seconds the newspaper was partially readable.

One article on that newspaper celebrated Otto Hopps' centenary birthday. In the same article, it is explicitly mentioned that **Otto had 1'100 grandchildren + great-grandchildren**.

This means that on average each generation of bunny in Zootopia had 10 offspring. So if we list out Otto Hopps' family:

  * 1 Otto Hopps
  * 10 Otto's children
  * 10 x 10 Otto's grandchildren
  * 10 x 10 x 10 Otto's great-grandchildren



10x10 + 10x10x10 = 1'100

As you can see, the numbers check out.

All of the above are the _**CANON**_ stuff; now below we get into the HEADcanon stuff.

So, the 275 "brothers and sisters" Bonnie said in the beginning of the movie? Likely not meaning Judy's blood siblings _only_ , but very likely meaning Judy's siblings (9 of them) PLUS cousins (90 of them) PLUS nephews/nieces of the same age bracket (uncertain, likely 100+, especially since Bonnie was Otto's youngest daughter). Plus perhaps maybe the neighbors' bunny kits, again of the same age bracket.

The population counter? Many an author that I respect had the idea that the counter is just a joke, playing against the bunny stereotype. A ~~tourist trap~~ landmark. Etc.

This unfortunately means that a huge kerfuffle in which tens of little bunnies pounce and pile around and on top of Nick is just no longer that dramatic.

* * *

**_Edit_ 1:**

MatteoMatteo raised a _very good_ point in the comments: Stu also contributed into the number of cousin and nephews/nieces. _  
_

So, let's try finding out the composition of Judy's "brothers & sisters":

  * 9 siblings
  * 90 cousins from Bonnie's side
  * 90 cousins from Stu's side



That gives us 189 sibling-level "brothers & sisters" already! So we only need to add 86 nephews/nieces **of the same age bracket** (totally plausible), and we'll get 275.

No need for non-family-related neighbors to add to the numbers 😁


End file.
